Profiles |
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Joan Kearsley MBE: Photo: Joan at work in her conservatory. |
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Vicky, our Projects Coordinator, chatted to Joan in her home. One of the things they have in common is that in June they both had their Coverack houses badly damaged by the floods. Joan has had an 'eventful year' as she put it! Being caught up in the Coverack floods in the summer of 2017 brought some of her experience from the Lizard Outreach Trust's BiG ( Building includes Girls) project to use, while her house is being repaired following the flooding. 'The BiG project was great as it got a lot of us girls who didn't have the chaps to do the DIY trying small projects ourselves instead of having to get people in.' (Joan, like some of the others had been recently widowed and found she had a shed full of excellent tools). 'A while ago now I did my floor in my conservatory on my own, some of the builders here now commented on it, I wouldn't have attempted it before the BiG project, I just needed a little help with the skirting: I won't be laying it this time!'
Joan supports our work at the Lizard Outreach Trust, through other community groups
who have been helping LOT to build a sensory garden at Coverack school.
When I visited her at her home, she was in the middle of repairs, which have been
keeping her busy, but she was still keen to chat about plans for the second phase
of the sensory garden project.
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Lucy: |
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I have a degree in Geography and Earth Systems Science at the Tremough Campus in Penryn from which I graduated in 2008. Since then I have worked in a variety of catering businesses in the local area which has led me to have great contacts within the local community.
I am looking forward to taking part in future LOT projects, and to helping and encouraging young people on the Lizard.
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Kate: |
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When I was offered the opportunity to become a trustee I was both excited and flattered. I went to Mullion Comprehensive school and was lucky enough to benefit from many of the wonderful activities LOT was running during my time there. One of the most inspirational projects I took part in was the political literacy project which really broadened my eyes to the rest of the world as well as developing a wide variety of skills. This is one of the main reasons I was excited to be a trustee as I wanted to help the charity offer others the opportunities I had. I completed my degree in law at the University of Southampton in 2011 and can’t quite believe how quickly the time has gone since then. I am currently studying for my legal practice course at UWE part time while working full time for the Citizens Advice Bureau. I aim to eventually qualify as a solicitor and hopefully work within the charity sector. LOT has continued to support me as it offers a great opportunity to see how a charity functions and how important it is to stay on top of legislation changes. My role is LOT so far has been to be as hands on with helping out on the projects as possible, look at ways of engaging with young students and also to check compliance and legal matters as much as I can.
I continue to be grateful for the experience I have gained as a beneficiary, volunteer and now as a trustee with LOT.
I am proud to be a member of a charity which encourages young people on the Lizard to take part in activities which will give them
the skills and confidence to succeed in whatever it is they want to pursue.
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Vicky: |
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I studied for a degree in theology and after my degree I worked for LOT under the New Deal scheme. It was helping to run after school activities that really inspired me to go on and study to become a youth worker. I took a post grad qualification in youth and community work at Marjohns. After qualifying I was employed full time as a Church youth worker in mid-Cornwall. A few years later the opportunity came for me to move back to the Lizard with my husband and young family, and I was thrilled to be asked to help LOT as a trustee. In addition to involvement with the youth work, I have particular responsibility for ensuring that LOT's Christian ethos is embedded. I saw the chance to help young people on the Lizard by encouraging them to take advantage of the great opportunities which LOT offers them; I continue to see many grow in confidence and gain really useful skills that could help them later on , both to find employment and to lead a fulfilling life in its widest sense. In the past I've run small youth groups from my home and I am currently involved in teaching Sunday School and in working with a team which presents the "Open the Book" initiative in local primaries. In some of my spare time I've just started learning to make my own creams and cosmetics - quite fun and smells great!
I love reading, walking, gardening, making jewellery. I have
two sons who keep me busy the rest of the time and I look forward to them being able to
share in the fantastic experience of LOT in the future.
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Mike: Click HERE to read about Mike on the Tall Ships |
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Lawrence: I first heard of Lizard Outreach Trust when I moved to England (having just spent 5 years living in France). |
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I started college, as they came in to the common room and were looking for young people to come on the City and Sea exchange. The trip was, in a sense, life changing for me as it made me realise how my life had lost direction and how I wasn't working towards the 'right' goals. So, a year down the line when I was offered a position at LOT for 9 months, I jumped at the opportunity and am now working for LOT as a student youth worker. The position is hard work but great fun and totally rewarding and I really hope to be able to make some changes in the organisation, being an extra body for LOT. One of my big ambitions is to run a few extra events for the over 16s in the Lizard who currently have next to nothing to do in the area. By doing this I hope to increase the number of young people we can work with throughout the time that I am here. This will be a gap year of sorts for me as I am not totally sure of what I want to do after this but I enjoy doing work that can benefit the community and working with people.
I am funded for the year by the Rank Foundation who have also given me
the opportunity to work towards a level 3 diploma in youth work, which I
hope, will help me with my work here and to gain further employment after
my time here whether I end up working in youth work or not. . |
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Jowan: |
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Following my coaching in 2009, I took part in the City & Sea Exchange,
which is an exciting project with Summer University in London, during which
we joined with young people from the East End of London looking at the business
end of the maritime industry in London and the practical side here in Cornwall.
It was a fantastic experience and great to meet the group from London and make
some new friends in Cornwall too.
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Josh and Alex: |
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Now we've left college and working, we are keen to volunteer and support young people
and our community. We like sport and being outdoors. In fact, we've just been on a week's
training to become volunteer crew for the Lizard lifeboat. |
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Kirsty: |
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It's another language and it's allowed
me to meet new people. It also gave me an idea for a career choice,
which I am extremely thankful for (I'm currently studying to be
an audiologist). At the moment I use sign language to talk to
some of my friends who use it as well. In the future some of the
patients that I will treat will use sign language and being able
to sign myself it will be easier for both me and the patient to
solve the problem. |
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Ben: |
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I knew the manager of my local football team and he
asked me to become the club's linesman when I was just 14, which
really excited me. I "ran the line" for the club for
two seasons gaining a great deal of experience and becoming more
and more recognisable to local clubs and referees. I soon joined
my local Referees Association and just lately was asked to represent
Falmouth/Helston Referees on the local league committees. I soon
became a well-known face in the world of Cornish refereeing.
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Tom: I am 20 years of age, and I have been involved with boats since the age of 7, when I first started sailing with my Grandad on his 1934 Blackwater sloop. It wasn't until the age of 14 when I got involved with the boatbuilding course run by the Lizard Outreach Trust that I started considering a career in boat building. As the course progressed I became more and more enthused by the idea as this as a career. |
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My first experience of boatbuilding would have
to be making small fibreglass boats with John at Lanarth. I remember
waiting with intense anticipation to see if this thing I had made
really floated, and to my joy it did! The course with John gave
me the drive and enthusiasm to progress to the next stage, Falmouth
Marine College. It was here that I studied Traditional Boatbuilding
for 2 years. Once I had completed this very enjoyable and rewarding
course, I moved to Australia for a year where I used my trade to
fund my travels and also increase my skills.
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Tom: At the tender age of 18, I was busy stacking shelves at the local Tesco, when the wife of one of my ex comprehensive school teachers, Maggie Roberts, approached me to be a trustee for a charity helping young people. |
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Now, at that age I didn't know what a charity was
- let alone being a trustee of one, but I said I'd think about it
and, as I'd taken quite a lot from my community when I was growing
up and liked to have the opportunity to put something back, I became
a trustee. I'd just started doing a Hons Degree at Cornwall Business
School in Business Administration and being part of Lizard Outreach
Trust was very useful - I actually used the charity as the case
study for my dissertation which worked really well (and got me the
highest mark).
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Dan: Listen to GOLFDAY report Hello from Madrid. Having always been interested in journalism, I arranged a work experience placement, at the end of Year10, at Radio Cornwall. I enjoyed the week so much that I continued working with the radio station at weekends and during the school holidays. |
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At first, I carried out the work of a broadcast assistant but then
I began to help with producing the Saturday Sports Show.I was very
aware of how young people in the area benefited from the work of
the Lizard Outreach Trust and was keen to promote it on the radio.
The annual golf day provided the perfect opportunity. It was a typical
Cornish August day with wind and rain battering the course, but
I managed to overcome the elements to put together a feature on
the event which was broadcast. The BBC enjoyed the style in which
I had produced the package and I was given more "on air"
time as a result.
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John: I started working with the Lizard Outreach Trust in 1998 when I was approached with regard to using my workshop as a base for LOT's boatbuilding activities; I also designed the courses and worked as tutor, regularly evaluating the course content with the students. |
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Tony Roberts brought the students after school from Mullion School;
he stayed for the sessions, being in charge of the kitchen making
hot chocolate and jacket potatoes! Another new venture was the BiG
project (Building includes Girls), where 14-84 year old students
learnt basic DIY skills - carpentry, plumbing, painting and decorating.
We considered a patent for our roaming loo!
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Chris: Just to give you a bit more information on what I've been up to and what I'm doing in the next few months. I've started a new group for young carers between the ages of 18-25 as the young carers project have identified a gap in the service provided for young adults over the age of 18. |
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I placed two bids to get some beginning funds and
both were successful. I applied to 'Our money your dream' and we
received £3000 and also applied to another charity the Local
Network Fund. This was also successful and they gave us £7000.
A brilliant start to our group. We have also received various donations
from local Rotary clubs. |